This invention relates to a perfume patch or fragrance-emitting article, and more particularly, to a polyurethane article containing a fragrance oil which is released at a controlled rate, and a method of making the same.
Various compositions and devices meant to release a fragrance over a long period of time are well known. The fragrances employed include both aromatic and perfumed compositions. An early form of such a device, and one still in use, was a pomander made by studding an apple or orange with cloves and useful as a garment sachet. Another approach still in use is to enclose dried leaves or flower petals in a perforated bag, box or other container. More recently, various solid substrates such as waxes or polymeric materials have been impregnated with fragrances for use, for example, as room fresheners. In such applications, a steady and controlled rate of release of the fragrance from the substrate is a desirable attribute. The uses of waxes or polymeric materials as substrates or carriers has the further advantage that the fragrance-containing materials can readily be formed or cut into virtually any desired shape or size.
As specific examples of the known materials described above, U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,119 to Wilburt discloses a method for incorporating fragrance compounds, oil bouquets or other agents into polymeric or natural materials so that the fabricated product possesses the properties imparted by the agent or agents for a long period of time; this method requires the use of surfactants for incorporating the agents and the duration of the agent in the fabricated product is enhanced by employing antioxidants and/or ultraviolet radiation absorbers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,046 to Chebiniak et al describes a composition containing pores, which express liquid upon application of pressure, formed from mixing an aqueous latex of a polymer with a plasticizer and heating to produce an aqueous composition containing dispersed droplets or plasticizer in which a coloring material may be dispersed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,869 to Sweeney et al describes fragrance-releasing appliques that provides a transparent or translucent substrate bearing microcapsules containing the fragrance in a binder on one surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,179 to Carson et al describes a method and apparatus for impregnating a porous foam product with a fragrance that can be released over an extended period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,176 to Hartung et al describes an insole for footwear that has an odor masking or malodor counteractant material dissolved, trapped or encapsulated in a somewhat resilient resin coating through which it will progressively migrate or bleed under application of foot loads, foot perspiration and elevated foot temperatures to the surface of the coating to be released into the footwear to mask or counteract foot odors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,944 to Stone et al discloses fragrance-emitting articles comprising a polyurethane foam containing a particulate filler and a fragrance material, and a method of making such an article.
Each of the known compositions have some disadvantage such as high cost, inadequate rate of release of the fragrance, difficulty in forming and maintaining a desired shape, difficulty in preserving the quality of the fragrance in the formulation of the encapsulating product and so on. Processing conditions such as heat, pressure and chemical agents used in processing such as surfactants, water, solvents, etc., make it difficult to maintain the integrity of the desired fragrance. These disadvantages have led to a continuing search for improvements in fragrance-releasing compositions.
Most particularly, it is desired to have a perfume-emitting article suitable for wearing on any part of the body where one would normally dab perfume. In addition, it is desired to have a perfume-emitting article that may be used as, for example, a room deodorizer, and for that purpose, may be adhered to a wall or other object in the room. Another useful purpose for this perfume-emitting article is as an inclusion in a magazine in a pouch or on a postcard, where it provides a sample of the fragrance contained in the article.
With any of these uses, this article must be able to release a fragrance for an extended period of time. It is necessary that such an article remain adhered where it is positioned during the time fragrance is released. With some uses, however, for example when the article is used as a perfume patch or a room deodorizer, after all the fragrance has been released, the article must be removed.
Many fragrances used in known perfume-emitting articles, especially oil-based fragrances, will migrate through the adhesive layer that attaches the article to its position on a surface. The fragrance oil mixes with the adhesive, and plasticizes the adhesive, making it less cohesive and more sticky. The internal strength of the adhesive is reduced considerably. When it is desired to remove the patch, portions of the plasticized adhesive remain on the surface to which the patch had been attached. Such an article is totally unacceptable for the adhesive residue appears unsightly, picks up dust, and if it is on the skin, is uncomfortable and objectionable, necessitating washing the skin to remove the plasticized adhesive.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to produce a fragrance-emitting article or perfume patch which can be attached to a surface or any part of the body, and which will release fragrance for an extended period of time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a perfume patch and a method of making such a perfume patch comprising a polyurethane containing a fragrance oil, which patch can be attached to any surface or worn on essentially any part of the body and will emit fragrance for an extended period of time.
It is an object of the invention to provide a perfume patch into which a fragrance oil may be dispersed without degrading the fragrance oil and the quality of the fragrance emitted.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a perfume patch, and a method of making such a perfume patch, that will remain attached in position on a surface during the entire time the fragrance is released, and when removed, will be cleanly removed from the surface.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a perfume patch, and a method of making such a perfume patch, that will not leave traces or residue of the adhesive on the surface to which the patch had been attached.
It is a further object of the present invention to produce a fragrance-emitting article which can be produced at a low cost, provides an adequate rate of release of the fragrance, and can be shaped as desired.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive means to enable potential perfume customers to sample the actual fragrance of a perfume and/or removably apply the perfume to the body.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive yet effective means for disseminating sample quantities of perfume through the mail and/or as magazine inserts in a structure which can be opened to release the fragrance and which means can be removably applied to the body to enable the perfume to be sampled over an extended period of time.